Tales of Monsters and Men
by Determined-Day-Dreamer
Summary: A collection of Undertale-related one-shots/prompts, spanning over various genres, ratings, and AUs. Maybe or may not include insert/Reader interaction. CHPT 1 (AU): "After a long day of doing nothing, Sans decides to take a break and visit a friend in Snowdin Forest..."
**Title:** _Whisper to the Wind_

 **Summary:** _After a long day of doing nothing, Sans decides to take a break and visit a friend in Snowdin Forest._

 **Universe:** _AU  
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 **Warning(s):** _N/A_

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 ** _DISCLAIMER: I do not own Undertale. That honor goes to the genius mind of Toby Fox_**

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You know, there was really something to be said for lazy days.

...Whether or not those days were appropriate to be taken in the middle of a work shift was left up to debate.

Hey, don't look at him! It wasn't _his_ fault! It was just... the weather was perfect for a rain-check on work; he'd never seen the snow look as white or cold like it was today! Besides – having dual-employment as a Snowdin sentry and runner of a concessions stand meant he was allowed twice the amount of legally-required breaks. Add up those with all of his side-businesses (telescopes and fried snow were reaching a jump in popularity – he'd actually gotten someone to listen to _all_ of his dialogue about them yesterday!), and Sans figured it'd allow up to a shift's worth of laziness. The extra amount of slacking before and after work were his charitable attempts at going above-and-beyond expectations.

Yeah, you're welcome. All in a day's work.

Which meant he had _another_ job to get a break from.

See? Doing nothing was a lot more than it was cracked up to be. You don't get any breaks when you're _this_ busy being lazy all day.

The skeleton grinned to himself, kicking up bits of snow with his pink slippers, some of the flakes sticking to the soft fuzz in little, uneven clumps. There was a nice perk to being made up entirely of bone: he could go out wearing whatever he wanted, because he didn't have any body heat to make the snow melt into his clothes.

Soggy slippers were a no-no, in the footwear department. Talk about uncomfortable.

There was an incoming storm – maybe two or three hours away from breaking point, if the atmospheric pressure and sharp, cooling gusts of air were anything to go by. The air was starting to put up some resistance, making it that much more difficult to trudge through the snow. Going home probably would have been the wiser decision, but Sans had something to do. He didn't _want_ to head back yet. He made a promise.

And he would be _damned_ before breaking a promise.

He shrugged silently to himself, and adjusted the hood of his windbreaker – it was his favorite piece of clothing; black, for the most part. There was a thick, light-blue stripe that covered the sides, splitting into a v-shape about halfway up the ribcage, the points stopping an inch or two inward. A second, thinner accent curved over the joint of his humerus, swooping down to frame the outline of where the garment's sleeves were sewn to the body. On the back, was a periwinkle rendition of the Delta Rune – an insignia, symbolizing Sans' magical skill set.

A particularly persistent breeze had Sans clenching his jaw with mild irritation. Removing his left hand from his pocket, a light blue shroud of energy surrounded his phalanges. Giving his index finger a little twirl, Sans called upon his magic. A thin plume of cyan light began to flicker from his left eye socket. The glow intensified ever-so-slightly, mingling with the air, teasing it to the side, but not trying to fight against it. Elemental magic was a fickle thing to begin with, let alone _wild_ Elemental magic. There was no fighting this untamed brand of power. Try something like that, and it'd devour you in a heartbeat, sucking everything you had during the backlash.

He hissed out a breath at the mere thought. Yeah... having your SOUL shredded to bits wasn't the most pleasant of ways to go.

Tracing a small circle with his finger, the Wind circulating around the monster's body nudged its way into the natural breezes buffeting its Caster. The magic eased it into two separate streams of air, which made the wild winds curve around his body in an ovular shape, still moving freely around him, but no longer hindering the skeleton's progress with its cold force. The grin on his face began more leisurely than before.

After a few minutes of gently managing the flow of air around him, a structure edged its way through the tall, blackened trees of Snowdin Forest. His smile pulled at the edges with anticipation when the doors came into view.

He'd stumbled upon it... not by _accident_ , per se. Everyone knew about the Catacombs, and where they were located. It was more... well, let's let the Ruins speak for that little tidbit, yes?

Sans dismissed his Wind, and huffed quietly when nature pummeled him with its cold gusts in retribution – miffed, but forgiving and appreciative enough of his respect to it to spare his SOUL. The cyan light dispersed and settled back within his bones. Coming close to the towering doors, Sans smirked cheekily as he raised a fist, and firmly knocked, near the seam where the gates to the Ruins met. "knock, knock," said the skeleton.

It was a bit of an odd sight, someone speaking to stone doors. After all, no-one had ever gone through those doors since the war-times. Still though, they were pretty great for practicing knock-knock jokes.

"Who is there?"

Especially when he had someone to test them out with on the other side.

"boo," he answered simply.

"Boo, who?" questioned a woman's voice

"aw, don't cry!" Sans finished with a snicker, "i didn't mean to scare ya!"

The voice began to laugh, in a series of bubbly giggles and cute snorts. Sans' smile widened with pride. He kicked some snow off to the side until there was a somewhat-level patch of it next to the seam between the Catacomb doors. Sitting down with a huff, Sans leaned back against the smooth stone. He tossed another one at her.

"knock, knock."

"Who is there?" There was excited anticipation in her tone.

"dishes."

"Dishes, who?"

" _dishes_ a bad joke!"

Another laugh was shared.

"Knock, knock," the woman said after a moment.

Sans chuckled quietly under his breath. "who's there?"

"Interrupting cow."

"interrupting cow, wh-"

"- _MOO_!" Her voice cut him off. Sans sat there a moment, processing what had happened, before an airy guffaw left his chest. He wiped an imaginary tear from an eye socket, and snorted out a final laugh, before commenting:

"nice one, t'."

'T' (she hadn't felt comfortable giving Sans her full name, which he could respect) chuckled out a "thank you", and a comfortable silence lapsed over the two of them. Now and again, one or the other would tell another joke, and Sans pulled an old notebook from his Inventory to write them down.

"What do you call an unidentified moose?" T asked him with a smile in her voice.

He shrugged in reply, despite her not being able to see it. "i dunno, what?"

"Anonymoose!"

Sans wrote that one down with another laugh.

"hey, t', did i tell you about the time i tried to catch some fog? too bad i _mist_ it."

They went on like that for a while. Swapping crappy jokes and puns until they dissolved into breathless laughter, getting it out of their systems. Humor melded into eager conversation, which quieted into more casual talk. Sans had put his notebook away, and shoved his hands back into his pockets. After a few more minutes, he took note of how the wind had strengthened, turning colder and more harsh. The Ruin doors and mounds of snow at either side were acting as a nice barrier from the worst of it, but he knew it would be time to go soon. That thought had a pang of sorrow worming its way into his chest. He didn't want to leave just yet...

"...hey, t'?"

There was an answering hum, muffled by stone. "What is it, Sans?"

Said skeleton shifted, absently curling his toes up in his snow-covered slippers. "so, uh... bit of a weird question, but... you... you're a monster, right?" He glanced over his shoulder to look at the door, as if he could see his friend through it. "n-not that i don't think you are. it's just... i've never see you so... can't really tell otherwise, y'know?"

T sounded amused, but inquisitive. "Yes, Sans, I am a monster," she graciously answered. He could hear the smile in her voice.

It was... nice.

Warm.

He chuckled again, but it sounded a little forced. He paused a moment, feeling her patience radiating between them as he tried to find the words to speak his mind. "so, uh... that means... you've got an element, yeah...?"

This time, she didn't answer right away. "...Yes. I do have an Element."

Sans grunted in response, nodding to himself. He coughed quietly into a fist, and shifted again. An awkward, unsure air came over them. "um... i know it's kinda... personal," he continued after a few seconds, hesitant, "but would you mind if i, uh... asked what it was? i could tell you mine first, if you want." He smiled shakily when she remained silent, brow knitted with nervousness. "u-unless you're not comfortable with it, i mean. i wouldn't want to cross any lines, or anything. i get it."

A pregnant pause filled the windy air. Sans' nervous smile fell into a somewhat-panicked frown. Oh, Stars, he'd screwed up, hadn't he? _why the hell would she tell you something like_ that _, if she wasn't comfortable giving you her first name, you freaking_ bonehead _?!_

"s-sorry, t', you don't have to-"

"Fire."

Sans stopped, blinking a few times. Trying to register what she just said. He adjusted his windbreaker's hood. "sorry?"

Her voice was quiet. But he couldn't catch any sort of hesitance in her tone. She sounded sure of herself, if a little... concerned. "Fire," T repeated, "My Element is Fire."

"o-oh." Fire, huh? It suited her – or, well, her voice, at least.

"What would yours be? If I may ask..."

"oh, yeah... m-mine's wind." _for the most part, anyway_ , he mentally added.

There was a quiet chuckle. "It suits you," T commented, and Sans felt his face flush with magic in response to the unexpected compliment.

"th-thanks... so does yours."

"Thank you, Sans." He could hear her smile returning.

"yup... no prob'."

Another stretch of quietness blanketed them; this time, it was much more comforting. Just two friends sitting in one another's presence. Sans could almost sense the heat of Fire magic seeping through the stone on his back. He released a sigh, mood beginning to dampen.

"Do you need to go home?" T asked, sounding a little sad. He nodded with an affirming grunt.

"there's a storm whipping up out here... it's gonna be a nasty one. i can feel it, in the air."

She sounded more alarmed now. "Oh! Well, I would not want you to get caught up in a storm for my sake. You should go home, Sans." An insistent edge merged into T's voice. "Please. I do not want you to get into any sort of trouble just for the sake of my company."

"but i like your company," Sans blurted out before he could stop himself. There was a surprised noise from behind the doors, and he felt his face tingle with the magically-induced flush. Smooth, Sans. _Real_ smooth. He stood up anyways, though, knowing she was right. "i... i dunno when i'll be able to come back." The snow was beginning to fall in heavy flakes. It was getting colder. "it's really picking up - might get snowed in for a day or two."

"Will you be all right getting home?" T questioned, sounding worried for her friend. Sans smiled, despite himself.

"yeah. with all this wind, getting back home should be a _breeze_." She laughed, and Sans' grin widened. He scuffed at the gathering snowfall with a slipper. "well, uh... i'll... see you in a couple days, yeah?"

He imagined her nodding. "Yes. I will see you then. Please stay safe, Sans."

"no need to get _hot_ headed, t'. heh." He shoved his hands back into his pockets, standing up. "really, i'll be fine. s' not my first blustery evening. you, uh... stay warm and stuff. not that you'll have any problems with that."

T gave a final snort of laughter, and told Sans to "hurry his tailbone home before he turned into a icicle". The skeleton grinned again, chuckling a quick, "see you, t'," before bidding her a safe night, and starting to walk away.

Sans unzipped his windbreaker, and hooked a looped piece of elastic cord in the jacket's lining around his floating ribs on each side, to secure it in place. The inside was soft and dove-gray. Within of his chest, Sans' SOUL – a white, inverted heart-shape – began to glow. Cyan light enveloped it as he called upon his Element, and Sans took a deep breath, his chest expanding and retracting with the motion.

He'd paused a few meters away, casting a glance over his shoulder at the Ruins' doors, before his left iris lit up, turning cyan with magical energy. The storm was whispering to him, Sans' own Winds responding in kind. Shoving his hands back into his pockets, Sans took a few running steps, before jumping into the air, spreading the parts of his windbreaker like sails. He willed Wind beneath him, and the jacket caught on it. He hovered a moment, feeling the natural energies of the strengthening snowstorm whirl about his body, buoying him mid-air in steady little bobs and weaves along the different air currents.

With a final look back at the Ruins, Sans' smile turned soft, and he pitched forward into the gale surrounding him. Using the gentle influence of his Element, he moved to steer quickly through Snowdin Forest, and back to the home he shared with his brother.

Sans soared, letting the wind carry him like a bird in flight, racing the worst of the storm and snowfall back home. The skeleton huffed a quiet laugh under his breath as he passed a grove of trees, snow momentarily falling to form a top hat upon his skull.

He gave his arms a little flap – like wings – and straightened his posture, using Wind to increase momentum as the snow began to fall in a heavy sheet of flakes. Sheesh, this one was going to be a doozy...

 _fire... stars, that suits her._ Sans chuckled to himself again. _well, see you in a few days, t'. at least you don't have to worry too bad about staying warm... heh._

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 **Just a note that, the content of this one-shot is based off of an Undertale AU I'm currently working on - it doesn't have an official name yet. But, as I'm sure you could figure out by the content, in this Universe, monsters can control Elemental magic. Sans can control Wind. Toriel controls Fire.**

 **If you've got any suggestions for an AU name, I'm all ears! :D**

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 _ **Come check out my Tumblr - I'd love to talk with you all! (just remove spaces and replace "-dot-" with a "."!)  
**_

 _ **determined-day-dreamer -dot-tumblr -dot-com**_


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